Reader Q&A: Dan Pompei's Bears mailbag

The Tribune's Bears columnist fields questions on Jerry Angelo's share of blame for the Bears' poor drafts, Lovie Smith's possible interest in a dual coach/GM role, the state of the offensive line and more in his weekly mailbag.

January 10, 2012|By Dan Pompei | Chicago Tribune reporter

I think there is a good chance Williams will move back to tackle at some point, in part because the Bears have a glut of potential starting guards. In addition to Williams, Chris Spencer, Lance Louis and Edwin Williams all are capable of starting inside. I can't see moving Webb inside, though. He strictly is a tackle, based on his body type. It is possible Williams and Webb could compete for the left tackle position, with the loser being the third tackle.

I think most Bears fans were shocked to see the large drop off in depth on the offensive side of the ball after Jay Cutler and Matt Forte were injured. Do you feel a lot of this lack of depth could be improved by improving the offensive line first and foremost, or would the addition of more and better skill players be more beneficial? Dan Dosemagen, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.

The Bears are going to get an upgrade on the offensive line when Gabe Carimi and Chris Williams, two former first-round picks, return from injury. They need a wide receiver on offense more than anything in my opinion. But if you took the starting quarterback and starting tailback off almost any team in the NFL, I guarantee you it would appear that team would lack depth at a number of positions in addition to quarterback and tailback.

The article on Mike Martz said he resigned for "philosophical differences." I can't help but wonder if this means, "I told you guys we didn't have a backup QB and you did nothing about it." Or do you think Martz also thought Caleb Hanie could do the job? Richard Green, Tucson, Ariz.

I know Martz leaving the Bears was about more than Caleb Hanie. And it was a mutual decision. But the backup quarterback situation in general was a problem between Martz and management for most of his time in Chicago. Martz said all the right things about Hanie after Cutler went down, but the truth is I think he still doubted Hanie.

If the Bears knew that Nathan Enderle wouldn't be playing this year, why didn't they create an injury for him and put him on IR before the season began like they've done with other rookies the past few years? Then Josh McCown could have been brought in sooner for Hanie and we might have made the playoffs. Chad Quinn, Muncie, Ind.

What you are suggesting is against the rules. If any team is caught "creating" an injury, there are consequences. That isn't to say it isn't ever done, because teams do stretch the truth with injured reserve. But injuries and treatments have to be documented fairly meticulously. And to address your point about McCown, I don't believe the Bears ever planned on trying to earn a playoff spot with their third-string quarterback.

Can you see Jared Allen as a Bear? Tom Thunder, Lakewood, Calif.

If you are asking me if I think there is any way it could happen this offseason, the answer is no. If you are asking me if I think Allen would appeal to Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli and the Bears coaches, the answer is absolutely. It would be difficult to justify paying Allen, who isn't leaving the Vikings by the way, and Julius Peppers. That would leave the Bears with much less to spend on other positions of need.

There are a lot of different ways to measure strength, but based on bench press repetitions of 225 pounds, the strongest Bears are Paea and recently signed Jordan Miller. At the 2010 combine, Paea set a new record with 49 reps. Miller reportedly got 37 reps at his pro day. Kellen Davis had 22 reps at the 2006 combine.

Wondering if the Bears are the only professional sports organization that holds their fans playoff dollars hostage. Having been a season-ticket holder of many Chicago and Wisconsin teams, only the Bears do not have an option for a refund of playoff ticket money. Further, if you hold PSL seats and do not opt for the playoff tickets, you will lose your tickets forever. Forced to buy playoff tickets, then forced to fork over next season's renewal. Hard to imagine, with so many struggling to make ends meet, the Bears would only let you forward those dollars to next year's tickets "if" there are no playoff games. We have six seats and fortunately are not in a financial bind. Just seems a little KGB to me. Fits right in with all the secrecy at Halas Hall. Lane Samuelson, Marengo